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Tardigrades (/ ˈ t ɑːr d ɪ ɡ r eɪ d z / ⓘ), [1] known colloquially as water bears or moss piglets, [2] are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals.They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773, who called them Kleiner Wasserbär ' little water bear '.
The use of tardigrades in space, first proposed in 1964 because of their extreme tolerance to radiation, began in 2007 with the FOTON-M3 mission in low Earth orbit, where they were exposed to space's vacuum for 10 days, and reanimated, just by rehydration, back on Earth. In 2011, tardigrades were on board the International Space Station on STS-134.
Tardigrades are affectionately known as water bears or moss piglets and are tiny invertebrates measuring a maximum of 0.05 inches in length. Viewed through a microscope, they look a little like a ...
Tardigrades have been shown to respond to different temperature changes at different developmental stages. Specifically, the younger the egg, the less likely it is to survive extreme environments. However, not too long after development, tardigrades demonstrate a remarkable ability to withstand these conditions.
Tardigrades can withstand 1,000 times more radiation than other animals, [17] median lethal doses of 5,000 Gy (of gamma rays) and 6,200 Gy (of heavy ions) in hydrated animals (5 to 10 Gy could be fatal to a human). [18] Earlier experiments attributed this to their lowered water content, providing fewer reactants for ionizing radiation. [18]
Tardigrades, which are eight-legged micro-animals, are commonly referred to as water bears or moss piglets and are found all over the world in varying extreme habitats. First discovered in 1904 and originally named Hypsibius antarcticus, Acutuncus antarcticus is the most abundant tardigrade species in Antarctica. [1]
A note on the habitat of the marine tardigrade Echiniscoides sigismundi (Payment needed for full article) Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. ser 12, 7: 554-560; Clive I. Morgan, Philip Ernest King (1976). British Tardigrades, Tardigrada: Keys and Notes for the Identification of the Species. New series, Synopses of the British fauna. Vol. 9.
Ramazzottius is a genus of water bear or moss piglet, a tardigrade in the class Eutardigrada, named after the Italian zoologist Giuseppe Ramazzotti.. Ramazzottius varieornatus (see image) is a terrestrial invertebrate that is extroardinarily tolerant of extreme conditions such as irradiation, chemicals, dehydration and high pressure. [2]